Serious question here, can they get it certified in time for first delivery to us in 2Q 2015? How much of a program does it have to go through since the airframe is not a clean sheet design?

I don't know about "same plan this time" but that's clearly what happened with C2012.
The administration and the semi-permanent insiders wrote the contract.
The reps got played like a violin.

Whether they will let that happen again in 2015 is an open question.

A good friend of mine who travels a lot just flew Seattle to Las Vegas. He had a good ride down on a 737 but flew a CRJ700 back. He was very uncomfortable and not happy with the CRJ and will make sure he avoids RJ's at all costs in the future.

Denny

Hehe, and they are always wrong, so pick higher or lower. I'm thinking lower, but it's a guess based on.... I don't see a materially weaker dollar going forward, QE is done, the Fed will spend at least a decade unwinding the balance sheet, OPEC can pump cheaper than us/will not give up market share, the Asian economy will be exposed for the fraud that it is, alternative energy, Keystone pipeline, no material demand from millennials to replace retiring baby boomers, more efficient cars and aircraft, Delta oil refinery will flood market with cheaper gas since the upside outweighs the losses, I could list hundreds of things.

Speculators are a big one though, they were probably responsible for most of the past run up, so hopefully that is the past. Usually, bubbles take a decade or more to re inflate, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

newest flight ops update: SEA 73N base
 

Anyone have any speculation on how a 73 base in Seattle will effect movement westward?

The more seats the better the movement/opportunities will be.

Our western based pilots have been traditionally more senior because we don't really have an entry-level airplane out west, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of our pilot positions are based east of SLC. The 73 in LA is the closest thing, but it's so small that it's still very senior (ie not enough slots to trickle way down the list.)

More/new narrowbody spots on the west coast is a good thing for anyone wanting to be based out there.

While LowPhyler's description of how the final pay rates and profit sharing part went agrees with your assertion here, my understanding is that the MEC was kept in the loop throughout the process as to the rest of the contract. They received regular updates as to what had been agreed upon, and what had not. As I understand it, there was some amount of redirection when certain desired items could not be achieved in their original form.

Saying that the MEC played no role larger than that of a stringed orchestral instrument during that time is very different from what I've heard.

The one consistent thing with someone predicting something a decade is that they will almost certainly be wrong.

Yes, positively!:)

Longer answer: There are a lot of fairly senior FO's on both the A330 and 75/767 based in Seattle that will try and bid captain on it. And I won't leave out SLC and LAX guys either. For that matter, I'm sure there are guide a few guys that commute out of Seattle to the 737 in both LAX and SLC. Establishing any base out west will have a positive effect.

Denny

Hey Clamp, your boy is in the news again:

Website Alleges Jameis Winston Shaved Points in First Half of Louisville Game | FOX Sports